One of today’s most well-known painters, Gerhard Richter, has joined David Zwirner, a massive gallery with eight locations across three continents. As a result of the change, Richter would no longer be represented by Marian Goodman, his longtime gallery where he had worked for more than 30 years.
In March of next year, Richter, who turned 90 this year, will perform with David Zwirner for the first time.
Richter stated, “I have known David since his boyhood as I had already, in the 1960s, worked closely with his father, Rudolf Zwirner. This, in my opinion, shows a lovely continuity between generations.”
Richter’s paintings have taken on various distinct styles, from frigid figurations to abstract works in vibrant colors. In his native Germany, he is revered as a living legend and has been credited with changing the direction of the painting. Richter has reportedly participated in Documenta, the prestigious annual art exhibition in Kassel, more frequently than any other artist. His paintings that featured imagery from photographs that he recreated in steely black and white and slightly blurred propelled him to popularity in the 1960s. However, Richter is now more well-recognized for his abstractions, created by pulling a squeegee across his paintings.
While Richter’s artwork is philosophical and frequently filled with concepts, it has attracted large audiences worldwide and even entered pop culture, as evidenced by the famous candle image that graced the cover of a cherished Sonic Youth album. In a long-awaited book that was eventually published this year, art historian Benjamin H. D. Buchloh recently attempted to review Richter’s body of work in light of his enormous effect.
Dealer David Zwirner commented, “Working with Gerhard Richter is a great honor and privilege. Without a doubt, Richter has produced one of the most conceptually intricate and stylistically diverse bodies of work in the history of art. The freedom Richter has gained by not adhering to any one idea or belief has allowed him to simultaneously praise and undermine the act of painting. He has single-handedly expanded the scope of research and possibilities for the medium in the process.”
